As expressed in the title of the present specification, the following invention consists of a vending machine, that is preferably useful to dispense refrigerated food products, for which purpose it has the corresponding refrigerating equipment, in such a way that the object of the vending machine is to permit the removal of the products without them being knocked, and to have a large variety of products.
In this way, the selected product is conveyed towards the mouth of the withdrawal box, without being knocked, thus preventing possible breakage, and in the event that the selected food product requires a spoon in order to be eaten, the user has access to a box of the machine itself in order to take out the corresponding spoon.
On the other hand, the vending machine can include an insulating plate in order to define inside it two compartments that may be kept at different temperatures, making it possible to have products that should be kept at a low temperature (for example 4xc2x0 C.) and other products that are kept practically at room temperature (for example 15xc2x0 C.).
Hence, a large variety of products may be placed in the vending machine, it being possible to keep them at the temperature suited to each one of them for their perfect preservation.
Likewise, the product dispensing mechanism, defined by means of the corresponding conveyor belt or chain provided with the respective elements for conveying the products, positioned equidistant in accordance with the size of the products, may be materialized in such a way that the same is very simple upon being based on an endless plastic conveyor chain, obtained by molding, geared between a pair of pinions and whose outside surface has a series of projections very close to each other, provided with some through holes.
The vending machine of refrigerated food products is especially applicable for installation in schools, hospitals, public institutions, companies, etc. allowing users to select a large variety of desserts, custard, yogurt, egg custard, dairy products or the like and snacks, as well as other products that should not be kept at a low temperature for their suitable preservation, such as nuts, candy, cookies, etc. wherein refrigeration can even spoil the product.
Vending machines that include refrigerating equipment, are used to dispense cold drinks or food products which due to their ingredients need to be kept at a low temperature until they are consumed, in such a way that the mechanisms necessary for the removal of the selected products vary in different cases, as a logical consequence of the products that should be handled.
Hence, we can consider those vending machines of refrigerated food products that have some bodies rotating between two shafts, a top one and a bottom one, which are provided with some blades which as compartments house the products to be dispensed.
The main inconvenience that such vending machines have, is that the number of products to be selected is very small, for example six, and besides the distance between the blades that define the compartments is fixed and therefore, depending on the product that is to be selected, it may happen that due to its own volume there is a lot of wasted space.
The fact that the distance between the blades of the bodies where the products are deposited is fixed, is due to the fact that the owner of the vending machine is the one who decides what products are to be placed for their selection, therefore, the manufacture should manufacture it with some fixed dimensions.
On the other hand, given that the bodies for placement of the food products to be dispensed rotate between two shafts arranged vertically, the position of the products in the front and rear part thereof, is reversed, consequently the products overturn, and in the dispensing thereof they fall towards the withdrawal box, a fall that may spoil them.
Besides, in vending machines of refrigerated products that dispense products that normally require spoons for their consumption, there is the inconvenience that since the machines do not have a specific space to house the spoons, the only alternative is to place a container on the top of the machine or close to it, a container that contains the spoons so that the user who needs it may take one, but the container may accidentally fall over or a unscrupulous person may take all the spoons or intentionally knock the container over.
The present specification presents a vending machine of the type of vending machines that include refrigerating equipment, keeping the food products refrigerated for their preservation until they are dispensed for their consumption, the vending machine being comprised of a series of rectangular plan trays in horizontal position, pivotable independently from each other, with regard to a shaft relative to a front vertex, some longitudinal compartments being defined in the cited trays, compartments centrally having a longitudinal opening with regard to which corresponding chains rotatable between two horizontal shafts are provided, chains that operated by the corresponding motor move the selected products towards a receiving tray for conveyance towards the mouth for withdrawal by the user.
The product receiving tray is arranged in a transversal position with regard to the advancing of the products through the compartments and close to the open side for the discharge of the products.
The receiving tray on which the selected products are deposited, have a length similar to the width of all of the compartments of the deposit trays, the receiving tray being moved vertically by a slide guided and conveyed by a chain or belt positioned between two vertically aligned shafts.
The compartmentalized trays are pivotable with respect to a shaft relative to one of their front vertexes, collapsing towards the outside of the body of the machine for its loading, the machine having a platform removable towards the outside so that the operator who loads the machine has access to it permitting easy loading of the highest trays.
The compartments into which the product depositing trays are divided, have in their base a central opening, in relation to which the endless chain or belt is arranged between two horizontally aligned shafts, a series of bodies being connected equidistantly in said endless chain, bodies to which transversal plates are connected pivotably, plates that push the products in the advance of the chain operated by the corresponding motor that transmits the movement to one of the gearing shafts.
The bodies fixed to the respective chains or belts of the compartments can be positioned in accordance with the size of the product that they house, permitting a simple adaptability to the size thereof.
On the other hand, the movement of the corresponding belt or chain of the compartments of the product depositing trays by means of the respective operating motor, is defined by a micro that the expelled products receiving tray includes, giving an order for the motor to stop when the product contacts the cited micro.
The tray for receiving and unitary conveying of the selected products towards the mouth for withdrawal by the user is integral to a slide guided and slidable vertically by a chain between two vertically aligned shafts, the base of the receiving tray having centrally and longitudinally an opening in relation to which it has an endless chain rotating between two shafts, the chain being operated by the corresponding motor which transmits movement to one of the gearing shafts.
The rotatable chain of the receiving trays of the products expelled from the corresponding deposit compartment, has a pair of strips that thrust the products that bring the product towards the mouth for withdrawal by the user, and which are in an equidistant position to each other.
Besides, the tray for receiving and conveying the selected products towards the withdrawal mouth in relation to the longitudinal side close to the open ends of discharge of the products from the compartments of the different deposit trays of the products to be selected, has a micro that sends stopping orders to the corresponding operating motors of the chains of the compartments of the trays, and at the same time it gives a collecting order to the electronic control system of the machine.
The mouth for withdrawal of the products by the users is located in correspondence with the middle part of the product depositing trays, the mouth for access to the spoon box being under it, a box which is operable, only, when the selected product requires the use of a spoon for its consumption.
Hence, it is a question that the path of the slide carrying the product receiving tray from the deposit and conveying compartments to the withdrawal mouth is the smallest possible.
Likewise, the vending machine can include an insulating plate that defines two inside compartments that are kept at different temperatures, the insulating plate having some dimensions similar to those of the compartmentalized trays where the products are located, the cited compartments being provided with respective chains or belts to which some product conveying strips are connected pivotably, the receiving tray of the products expelled from the corresponding compartments of the product placement trays being in the inoperative position with respect to the insulating plate, collaborating in this way in the insulation of the two inside compartments with the insulating plate in order to keep them at different temperatures.
The chains of each one of the compartments of the product placement trays, geared between respective pinions, have on their outside surface some small projections, very close to each another, provided with a through hole, through which some product conveying strips are connected pivotably in the dispensing operation towards the tray for receiving and conveying to the withdrawal box.
The product conveying strips that are connected pivotably to the advance chains or belts, have a generally rectangular shape, with a central recess with a length similar to the width of the chain or belt itself, said recess being in relation to its side of abutment to the base of the compartment and said strips being provided in relation to the end of the lateral sides of the cited recess with respective stubs for pivoting connection to the corresponding hole of the respective projection of the belt, in such a way that in the advance of the belt the strips convey the products sitting centrally on the open base of the compartment.
On the other hand, the conveying strips, once the product has been dispensed, can pivot freely, with respect to the pair of stubs of pivoting connection to the belt, as their free end abuts against a bottom platform for the purpose of taking up less space and in order to be able to increase the capacity of the machine, given that the base of the compartment extends in relation to the top part of the belt.
In order to complete the description that is going to be made hereinafter and for the purpose of providing a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, the present specification is accompanied by a set of drawings, in whose figures the most characteristic details of the invention are represented in an illustrative and non-restrictive manner.